ROCK OF AGES

After Mamma Mia! became a global success back in 2008, New Line/Warner Bros won the rights to make a big screen adaptation of the stage production of Rock of Ages that was in a bidding war between studios.  The $75 million budged musical was tracking poorly going into its domestic release and opened below its modest expectations with a disappointing $14,437,269 in 3,470 theaters — placing #3 for the weekend, slightly ahead of the Adam Sandler flop That’s My Boy.  Rock Of Ages declined 47% to $7,655,377 in its second weekend and crashed in its third weekend 62.8% to $2,844,339 and closed its poor US run with only $38,518,613.  Warner Bros would see back about $21.1 million after theaters take their percentage of the gross, which would not even cover the domestic P&A spend.  After an expensive overseas rollout, the film was a disaster in almost every market, grossing a total of $22.5 million for Warner Bros, which would also leave much of the ad spend in the red and the budget at a loss.  A poor $4,453,274 from the UK was the strongest overseas number.  Domestic video sales took in $16.1 million (less after resellers take their cut and manufacturing costs).